


the blood pours out like rain

by blue_wind_gets_so_sad



Series: Mythical Newsies [2]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attack, Swearing, albert knows big words too, all of these boys see through each others bullshit, blood mention, buttons can't lie for shit, davey is The Mom Friend, finch isn't stupid, hc that tommy boy reads myths and gothic lit to get himself to sleep, i did minimal research into the creatures mentioned in ch2 forgive me, i had to include my boy hot shot, i love tommy boy yall, if i had a dollar for every time i type the word "breathin'" i'd be rich, jack is unbelievable, katherine and jack are together but it isn't the focus of this, keep blink away from knives you guys, most of my fics are "something's wrong with ___", oh yeah, race has a colorful vocabulary, race is an anxious mess, set in the same universe as my werewolf davey fic, she's also a girl in this fite me, smalls is very level-headed, someone stop him, something's wrong with jack 2.0, specs knows what he's doing, the worried newsies club is back bitches, these boys love crossing their arms over their chests, tommy boy is a walking mythical creature dictionary, tommy boy isn't stupid either, vampire jack kelly, vampire!jack kelly, werewolf buttons davenport, werewolf buttons has a good nose, werewolf david jacobs, werewolf!buttons davenport, werewolf!davey jacobs, why do i torture these kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-12 18:30:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16000886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_wind_gets_so_sad/pseuds/blue_wind_gets_so_sad
Summary: Buttons scampered off upstairs, while the others quickly moved to the kitchen. Race cleared the table in one swipe of his arm and Hot Shot immediately put Jack down on the table. Crutchie pulled himself up to sit on the counter and leaned his crutch against the wall. Seconds later, Specs and Buttons came quietly down the stairs and into the kitchen. Specs set the box he was carrying down beside Crutchie on the counter. He adjusted his glasses, then rested his fingers against a place on Jack’s neck. Nothing. He removed his fingers, then rested the side of his head on Jack’s chest. Nothing. His jaw clenched, then he grabbed a piece of a mirror out of the box and held it under Jack’s nose. Nothing.“He’s gone.”





	1. they'll never take me alive cause i'm already dead

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings: Swearing, death, blood mention, panic attack.

                Racetrack Higgins paced around the main room of the Manhattan Lodging House, twirling a cigar around his fingers anxiously. In one of the chairs sat Davey Jacobs, one of his legs bouncing as he bit his lip in thought. Davey was supposed to be at home, but he was summoned to the Lodging House by a very frantic Albert DaSilva, who was then in the chair to his left. To his right was Crutchie Morris. He was leaning into Davey’s side because he had a nightmare and Jack wasn’t there to help him. Buttons, a fellow werewolf, had latched onto Davey’s still leg for a similar reason.

                “I can’t just keep waitin’ here, Davey. Pacin’ a hole in the damn floor ain’t doin’ Jack any good.” Race huffed, finally stopping in his tracks.

                “Well, going out there and getting yourself hurt or killed won’t do Jack any good, either,” Davey replied, carding shaky hands through Buttons’ and Crutchie’s hair in an attempt to keep himself grounded.

                “ _He_ could be hurt or killed, Dave!” Race shouted.

                “Would you keep your voice down?” Davey hissed as Crutchie whimpered and shifted in his sleep. Davey quietly shushed him and whispered reassurances to him.

                “Race, I agree with Davey. You’re Jack’s second. If he ain’t here, then you’re supposed to fill his shoes, not go runnin’ after him like a damn vigilante.” Albert looked at Davey to make sure he used the word correctly, then felt proud of himself for a few seconds when Davey nodded.

                “If he doesn’t show up in the next few hours, our best bet is to wait until morning to go and look for him. It’ll be brighter, plus we’ll be able to go in groups.”

                “’Next few-’ He could be in the Refuge. Davey…he could be in the Refuge.”

                “What? No. Race, that hell hole is closed and Snyder’s in jail, remember? End of the strike? Roosevelt?” Davey’s eyebrows creased in confusion.

                “That’s it. That’s what it has to be. H-He’s in the Refuge.” Race froze in his spot and started shaking lightly.

                Before Davey could catch onto the situation, Albert was out of his seat and at Race’s side. “You’re panickin’, Racetrack. He ain’t in there, Race. He won’t never be in that place again. None of us will.”

                “He’s there, Albo. I know he is. It’s the only place he could be.” Race’s voice started getting whiny and desperate as his breaths quickened. “We gotta get him out!” His eyes widened and flickered between Albert and the front door.

                “Race, listen to me. I need you to breathe. That place ain’t runnin’ anymore. Jack’s gonna be okay. He ain’t in there.”

                “We gotta help him, Albert!”

                “Anthony.” Race’s erratic breathing stopped for a few seconds, then resumed. “Tony, Jack ain’t there. Listen, I’ll go look for him, alright? I just need you to breathe.”

                “No, I-”

                “You’re needed here. Breathe.” Albert cautiously grabbed Race’s hand and inaudibly sighed in relief when Race didn’t pull away. Albert moved Race’s hand to his chest so that he could feel the steady beat of his heart and try to get his own to match it. It took a few minutes, but Race was finally calm enough to clear his head of the overly negative thoughts bouncing around up there. Albert gingerly pulled Race over to where he was once sitting and watched as Race curled into Davey’s left side. After a few seconds, he started walking out of the room.

                “Where are you going?” Davey questioned.

                “I’m just goin’ to check the block.”

                “I thought you said-”

                “I said Race didn’t need to go chasin’ after him. Never said anythin’ ‘bout myself.” With that, Albert opened the front door and left.

 

*** 

 

                Albert had been gone five minutes. Five minutes turned to ten. Race wasn’t asleep, but he wasn’t speaking. Ten minutes turned to fifteen. Buttons had another nightmare. Fifteen turned to twenty. Albert should’ve been back by then. Twenty turned to twenty-five. Crutchie was woken up by pain in his leg. Twenty-five turned to thirty. Davey was contemplating going outside himself.

                Suddenly, the door flew open. Albert walked in first, followed by the very tall Brooklyn newsie known as Hot Shot. In Hot Shot’s arms was an unconscious Jack Kelly. At least, Davey hoped he was unconscious.

                “Jack!” Race exclaimed, running over to the three of them. Buttons and Crutchie both woke up from the noise and it took Davey a few moments to catch them up to speed before he jumped up and took charge of the situation.

                “Race, go clean off the table in the kitchen so Hot Shot can put him down. Buttons, I’m going to need you to go get Specs out of bed. Crutchie, you should come with us in case Jack wakes up.”

                Buttons scampered off upstairs, while the others quickly moved to the kitchen. Race cleared the table in one swipe of his arm and Hot Shot immediately put Jack down on the table. Crutchie pulled himself up to sit on the counter and leaned his crutch against the wall. Seconds later, Specs and Buttons came quietly down the stairs and into the kitchen. Specs set the box he was carrying down beside Crutchie on the counter. He adjusted his glasses, then rested his fingers against a place on Jack’s neck. Nothing. He removed his fingers, then rested the side of his head on Jack’s chest. Nothing. His jaw clenched, then he grabbed a piece of a mirror out of the box and held it under Jack’s nose. Nothing.

                “He’s gone.” Specs put the mirror back, then began to see if there was a visible cause of death. Davey covered his mouth with his hand and looked at the ground with widened eyes. Race fell backward into the counter, only being held up by Albert’s arms.

                “That…that ain’t true! He can’t be!” Race cried out into Albert’s shoulder.

                “Race, you’ll wake everyone. Be quiet.” Davey said quietly, nearly failing to keep his voice steady.

                “That’s what you’re worried about!? Jack’s fuckin’ _dead_ an’ you’re worried about wakin’ people up!?” Race tried to charge at Davey, but Albert held him back.

                “Racetrack, he’s right. W-We don’t need the others comin’ down here an’ seein’ him like this.” Albert tried his best to calm Race down, but it wasn’t working very well.

                “I should’ve gone after him. I could’ve saved him!”

                “Or you could’ve gotten killed, too.”

                “Better me than him!”

                While they bickered back and forth, Buttons moved over to Crutchie.

                “Crutch?” He whispered, his voice breaking. Crutchie didn’t respond. He had been staring at Jack’s face since the moment the words escaped Specs’ mouth. Buttons softly wrapped his arms around Crutchie, but the latter didn’t budge.

                They all heard a creak come from the staircase, but none of them had the chance to close the door before the person was in the room. “Davey? What’s goin’- Oh my god. Is he…?” It was Smalls. When Davey nodded, she closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. “Shit.” She whispered.

                “Smalls, I need you to get the guys out of here,” Davey ordered.

                “What? No! I ain’t leavin’!” Race shouted.

                It took a lot of arguing and fighting, but she finally got everyone out of the room, except for Davey, Specs, and Hot Shot. Once they were all in the main room, Davey closed the door.

                “Davey, there ain’t a mark on his body. Not any that weren’t already there. There’s blood on his shirt, but no marks.” Specs cast a glance up and down Jack’s body, then stepped back and leaned against the other counter.

                Davey nodded and turned to Hot Shot, who was awkwardly leaning against the wall. “What happened?” His voice came out as a whisper.

                “I was takin’ a walk on the bridge an’ I heard a scream over on this side. I started runnin’, but by the time I got there, he was like that on the ground. His neck was bleedin’.” Hot Shot explained.

                “His neck? There’s nothin’ on his neck.” Specs checked Jack’s neck again. Sure enough, there wasn’t a mark on his neck.

                “I’m just sayin’ what I saw.”

                Specs sighed and turned to Davey. “What do we do? We can’t keep him in here.”

                “I…don’t know. I-” Davey was cut off by the unexpected. Jack shot up with wide eyes and nearly fell off of the table.

                “What. The. Hell?” His voice was hoarse and squeaky. He rubbed at his throat and winced, then moved his hand to the side of his neck and creased his eyebrows in confusion when he saw his hand was clean.

                “Jack, you need to lie down.” Specs tried to get Jack back on the table by pushing down on his shoulders, but he wasn’t moving.

                “What? Specs, I’m fine.”

                “No, you aren’t. You were dead. You…still are?” One of his hands had moved to Jack’s chest. He still didn’t feel a heartbeat.

                “That’s not possible. He’s obviously alive unless we’re both hallucinating the same thing.” Davey helped Specs out and they finally got Jack to lie back down.

                “Nah, I see it, too.” Hot Shot added.

                “Boys, I’m fine. I don’t know what you…” Jack trailed off, then went silent. “I ain’t breathin’. Specs, I ain’t breathin’.”

                “Your heart ain’t beatin’. It usually takes brain cells around ten minutes to die without blood flow, so I don’t know what’s goin’ on.”

                “So, I’m a walkin’, talkin’ corpse. Nice.”

                “Not nice! Jack, what the hell!? How is any of this nice!? You’re…you’re dead!” Davey exclaimed.

                “Well, I’m functionin’ pretty good for a dead man, so I say that’s a plus.”

                “I can’t believe you.” Davey pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in disbelief.

                “Hey, no one else knows about this other than you three, right?” Specs, Davey, and Hot Shot shared a look, then glanced away. “…Right?” No one said anything. “Hell. How many?”

                “Five.” Specs answered.

                “Five!?”

                “Race, Albert, Crutchie, Buttons, an’ Smalls.”

                “Christ. Where are they?”

                “Main room.”

                Jack swung his legs off of the table and stood, perfectly steady.

                “Whoa, Jack. You can’t just-” Davey moved to grab Jack by the arm, but Jack moved away.

                “We can’t have them thinkin’ I’m dead, Dave. ‘Specially not Race an’ Crutchie.”

                “Yeah, and what happens if you fall out while you’re in there talking to them?”

                “I ain’t gonna ‘fall out,’ Dave. If I do, you can say I told you so.” Jack opened the door and moved into the hallway.

                “To what? A cadaver?”

                “Don’t know what that means, Davey.”

                “A corpse! Dead person! You!”

                Jack strode into the main room and it seemed as if the entire Lodging house froze still. “Hey, guys. So, it turns out I’m not dead.”


	2. hunted by all mankind but they're one step behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The original Worried Newsies Club™ stood in a circle outside.
> 
> “So, somethin’s wrong with Jack.” Finch started.
> 
> “Obviously. The question is what.” Elmer continued.
> 
> “He was actin’ mighty weird this mornin’, talkin’ ‘bout the sun bein’ bright. The clouds was coverin’ it. Plus, he said he didn’t get no sleep. Wasn’t even tired. I mean, it ain’t unusual for him to have a sleepless night, but somethin’ feels…off.”
> 
> “I get what you mean. The atmosphere is entirely different. It’s weird. Not to mention him nearly pukin’ after drinkin’ water in there.” JoJo added. They all stood there and tried to think of something else to add on.
> 
> “You two is awfully quiet.” Elmer narrowed his eyes at Buttons and Race.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Death mention, blood mention, swearing.

                If there was one thing Jack wasn’t expecting, it was Race punching him in the face. “Ow, ow! Racetrack, stop it!”

                “Guess he can still feel pain.” Specs mumbled to Davey. Davey _almost_ laughed in response.

                “You scared the shit out of me, you asshole!” Race’s punches moved down to Jack’s chest. When he calmed down, he slumped against Jack and threw his arms around him.

                “A man wakes up from the dead an’ all he gets is an ass-kicking.” Jack joked, returning the hug.

                “We thought…Specs said…” Race trailed off and pulled himself away from Jack. He looked him up and down, then pressed his ear to his chest. “What the fuck.” It was more of a statement than a question. “Jack.”

                “Yeah, I know.”

                “What the fuck!?” Race turned to Specs and Davey.

                “Hey, don’t look at us. We’s as clueless as you.” Specs replied.

                Race turned around to everyone else in the main room. “What…the fuck!?” They all shrugged. He turned back to Jack. “Well, how do you feel? Are you in pain? Do you remember anythin’?”

                “My face hurts, but that’s on you. I remember leavin’ Kath’s house. I was walkin’ home an’ someone dragged me into an alley. I remember pain in my neck, an’ then it all went dark. That’s it.” Jack shrugged.

                “Did you get a good look at whoever it was?”

                “Nope.”

                Race sighed and shook his head.

                “Hey, we should all get to bed. We have to sell tomorrow.”

                “You plan on sellin’ after you _died_?” Crutchie spoke up.

                “Well, yeah. I’m functionin’ pretty well, so I don’t see why I wouldn’t. C’mon, everybody. Let’s get this show on a roll.”

 

*** 

 

                After a few minutes, he got all of them to bed, and Crutchie and himself up to his “penthouse.”

                “Jack, are you sure you’re feelin’ okay?” Crutchie questioned from his end of the fire escape.

                “I’m aces, Crutchie, honestly. I feel perfect.” Jack was leaning against the railing on his side, gazing at the sky.

                “You still ain’t breathin’?”

                “Nope! I guess I don’t need to. I mean, I _can_. I just…don’t need it.”

                “Huh. Weird. You ain’t tired?”

                “Wide awake.”

                “Jack, that’s real worryin’.”

                “I’m fine, Crutchie. You need to go to sleep.”

                “Jack-”

                “Sleeeeep.”

                “But-”

                “ _Sleep._ ”

                “Okay, okay!”

 

***

 

                “Is it just me or is the sun brighter than usual?” Jack winced at the sunlight as everyone made their way to the distribution center.

                “It’s about as bright as it usually is. Why? You hungover or somethin’? That why you was so late gettin’ in last night?” Finch smirked and jokingly elbowed Jack in the side.

                “Nah. It’s just botherin’ me a bit. I spent all night starin’ up at the sky, so I probably just ain’t used to it yet.” Jack chuckled.

                “You didn’t get no sleep?”

                “Wasn’t tired.” Jack shrugged.

                Finch didn’t respond. The ones who knew what happened cast glances at each other, but kept walking. Everyone was uncharacteristically quiet when they got to the distribution center. It was almost as if they _all_ knew that something was off. Davey just hoped they didn’t find out the truth.

 

*** 

 

                At lunch, they were all lounging around at Jacobi’s. Jack had been his normal self the entire day, aside from the fact that he still didn’t need to breathe. Almost all worry had gone away until they got their glasses of water. Jack had barely taken a sip before he started gagging.

                “Jack? What’s wrong?” Romeo questioned. Jack made a motion toward his throat, then shot up and ran to the bathroom.  Romeo jumped up and went after him, followed by Davey and Specs. Finch narrowed his eyes, then looked at Elmer and gestured to the front door. They both got up and left, followed by Buttons, JoJo, and Race. The original Worried Newsies Club™ stood in a circle outside.

                “So, somethin’s wrong with Jack.” Finch started.

                “Obviously. The question is what.” Elmer continued.

                “He was actin’ mighty weird this mornin’, talkin’ ‘bout the sun bein’ bright. The clouds was coverin’ it. Plus, he said he didn’t get no sleep. Wasn’t even tired. I mean, it ain’t unusual for him to have a sleepless night, but somethin’ feels…off.”

                “I get what you mean. The atmosphere is entirely different. It’s weird. Not to mention him nearly pukin’ after drinkin’ water in there.” JoJo added. They all stood there and tried to think of something else to add on.

                “You two is awfully quiet.” Elmer narrowed his eyes at Buttons and Race.

                “I don’t…I don’t know what you’re talkin’ ‘bout.” Buttons replied, trying and failing to lie.

                “Smooth, Buttons, smooth.” Race mumbled sarcastically. Buttons glared at Race.

                “What do you two know that we don’t?” Finch folded his arms over his chest.

                “…Jack-” Race was cut off by Buttons.

                “Race! We…We ain’t supposed to tell. We’s already worried as it is, we ain’t supposed to be tellin’ anyone else.”

                “We won’t tell anyone.” JoJo crossed his arms over his chest as well.

                “No, I mean-” Race cut Buttons off this time.

                “Promise you won’t freak out?”

                “ _Race_.”

                The boys nodded their heads.

                “He died.”

                They were all silent until they started laughing.

                “I’m serious! You think I would joke about that? Tell ‘em, Buttons.”

                Buttons sighed. “He’s…He’s right. Hot Shot from Brooklyn showed up with Jack in his arms and Specs said his heart wasn’t beatin’. He said he wasn’t breathin’, either. He still ain’t.”

                Their smiles quickly went away. “You ain’t yankin’ our chains? He really ain’t breathin’?” Elmer questioned.

                “We’s tellin’ you the truth. Only thing that seems to be in workin’ order is his ability to puke, his ability to feel pain, and his ability to pretend like everythin’s okay when it ain’t.” Race shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets.

                “Alright, let’s think about this. We might as well go ahead and say that this is somethin’ supernatural, because I ain’t a doctor, but I don’t think someone human can go this long without breathin’.” Finch started off the theory train. “Anyone know any creature like that?”

                They all turned to Buttons. “What? Why’re you lookin’ at me? I only knew Davey’s a wolf because I’m one, too. I ain’t a walkin’ mythical creature dictionary.”

                Race snapped his fingers and pointed at Buttons. “So then we find one.” He then ran back into Jacobi’s.

                “I’m havin’ serious déjà vu right now,” JoJo muttered.

                “Yeah, me too.” Buttons and Elmer said in unison.

                When Race came back, he had a very confused Tommy Boy with him. “Is somethin’ wrong?” He questioned.

                “Yeeesss…? Kind of? We need your help.” Race replied.

                “My help? What for?”

                “You see, we need a little bit of smarts.”

                “Then you should get Davey.”

                “No, not that kind of smarts. We need supernatural smarts.”

                Tommy Boy looked around at all of them to make sure they were serious, then folded his arms over his chest. “Alright, lay it on me.”

                “We need a creature that doesn’t need to breathe.” Elmer started.

                “Doesn’t need to breathe?”

                “Or, died then came back to life, but it doesn’t have to breathe to survive.” Buttons went into further detail.

                “Well, that makes me think ‘undead.’ So, let’s see. We have banshees, ghosts, reapers, poltergeists, wraiths, draugar, ghouls, jiangshi, liches, revenants, skeletons, vampires, or zombies.”

                They all stared at him in utter confusion.

                “Okay, what does this creature look like?”

                “A normal human,” JoJo responded.

                “That narrows it down a lot. Ghouls, vampires, or zombies.”

                “It’s bothered by sunlight…and human food,” Finch added.

                “That sounds a lot like a vampire. That also sounds awfully like Jack. Is that why he was late gettin’ in? He died?” Tommy Boy narrowed his eyes at them.

                “Yeah.” They didn’t even try to hide it.

                “So, let’s say he _is_ a vampire. Ain’t he supposed to burn up in the sun or somethin’?” JoJo asked.

                “That depends on who turned him. Some vampires can walk in the sun no problem. Some vampires can’t even go outside in the day. Some vampires are just sensitive to it. He was complainin’ ‘bout the sun this mornin’, right? Seems like he’s just sensitive to it.”

                “What about the human food? Was there something wrong with his water or was it a vampire thing?” Buttons questioned.

                “Human food usually tastes disgustin’ to vampires. They’ll still eat it to blend in, but it won’t do anythin’ for ‘em. Only blood gives them the nutrients they need.”

                “Is…Is he dangerous?” Elmer’s voice came out very quiet.

                “Not unless he’s starvin’. Once he reaches a certain point, he won’t be able to control his urges anymore an’ he’ll attack anyone or anythin’ in sight. If a vampire bites you, you either die or become a vampire. There’s no gettin’ out of it. While the vampire sucks you dry, the virus in its saliva enters your wound. Your body will either accept the virus or try to fight it. If it accepts it, you’re a vampire. If it fights it…you’re dead. However, if you’re already a mythical creature, dependin’ on what you are, the virus won’t bother you. Like, if he were to go after Buttons or Davey, the only issue would be if he left you guys without enough blood to heal yourselves.”

                “That ain’t worryin’ at all.” Race let out a chuckle and a shaky exhale.

                Suddenly, the man himself threw open the doors of Jacobi’s and tore down the streets of Manhattan with inhuman speed. Davey and Specs came out soon after. Davey followed Jack, while Specs strode over to the group.

                “Buttons, you have a sewin’ kit on you?” He asked.

                “Always do. What’s goin’ on?” Buttons pulled a small sewing kit out of his vest pocket and tossed it to Specs.

                “Blink was playin’ around with a knife an’ he sliced his hand open. Jack freaked out an’ ran.” Specs quickly answered before dashing back inside.

                “Ah, hell,” Finch mumbled.

                “Three of us go after Davey an’ Jack, an’ the other three stay here an’ help?” JoJo suggested.

                “Tommy Boy, Finch, an’ Buttons should go after Jack. I’m his second; I need to do my job.” Race left no room for argument as he moved away from the group and went inside. JoJo and Elmer nodded to the other boys, then followed him.

                “Think you can find him, Buttons?” Finch raised an eyebrow. Buttons closed his eyes, then inhaled deeply. After a few moments, his eyes flew back open.

                “Got him.” Buttons took off down the sidewalk and the other two followed. After minutes of navigating streets and nearly getting run over by carriages, they finally got to where Buttons had tracked Jack to. The Lodging House.


	3. there's no bite as good as mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Davey crept up the staircase inside the Lodging House, quickly glancing in each room he walked past. “Jack?” He called out. No response. Once he got to the second story, his eyes caught on a closed door. It was the storage closet he had shifted in when everyone first found out he was a werewolf. He walked over to it and tried to open it, but it was locked. “Jack? Are you in there?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Swearing, blood mention.
> 
>  
> 
> (There are quite a few references to my werewolf!Davey fanfic in this chapter, but you don't really have to read it to understand what's going on. It's mostly Davey repeating actions Jack did to comfort him.)

                Davey crept up the staircase inside the Lodging House, quickly glancing in each room he walked past. “Jack?” He called out. No response. Once he got to the second story, his eyes caught on a closed door. It was the storage closet he had shifted in when everyone first found out he was a werewolf. He walked over to it and tried to open it, but it was locked. “Jack? Are you in there?”

                “Go away!”

                “Ah, come on. Don’t be like me, Jack.”

                “I don’t want to hurt you!”

                “You aren’t going to hurt me, Jack. Just open the door.”

                “No!”

                “Please don’t make me kick this door down.”

                “Stay away from me!”

                “Yeah, that’s it. I’m kicking it down.” It took him way more tries than it did Jack, but he finally got the door open. He stared at the empty room in confusion, then looked up. “Gah, what the _hell_!?” Jack was on the ceiling looking down at him. His eyes were fully black and he had his teeth bared to show large fangs. Davey swallowed, then sat down against the wall and gestured for Jack to come sit with him, much like Jack did for Davey. Jack hesitated, then slowly fell from the ceiling and landed on his feet. He moved over to Davey but still stayed a good distance from him.

                “Are you scared of me?” Jack asked, the fangs giving him a lisp.

                “No. I’m scared for you, and so is everyone else.”

                “I…I was fine until I saw the blood. Then I just- I had this urge to- I wanted-” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the thought.

                “It’s alright, Jack. The important thing is you didn’t succumb to it.”

                “…Yet.”

                “Yet?”

                “It’s still naggin’ at me, Dave. I’m tryin’ so hard to fight it, but it _hurts_.” He wrapped his arms around himself and rested his forehead on his knees.

                “Then…let me help.”

                “No. I ain’t hurtin’ you.”

                “Jack, I can take it.”

                “I don’t want you endin’ up like me!”

                “I’m a wolf, Jack. You can’t turn me.” Davey didn’t say what was on his mind, but Jack could fill in the blanks. _You can’t turn me, but you can turn the others_.

                “An’ what if I go too far? What then!?”

                “You won’t. I trust you.” Davey took his vest off, then started unbuttoning his shirt.

                “Dave…” Jack warned.

                “I trust you.” He repeated. The moment he got his shirt off, he was pinned to the floor.

                “Are you sure?” Jack’s focus was on the vein jumping in Davey’s neck instead of on his face. Davey nodded in response, then tilted his head to the side to give Jack better access. Jack hesitated, then gave in. When his fangs pierced Davey’s skin, Davey jolted, softly cried out, and gripped onto the back of Jack’s shirt tightly. Jack moved one of his hands to scratch Davey’s scalp the way he knew relaxed him. He was still in pain, but the scratching definitely made him feel better. Meanwhile, Jack seemed to be enjoying himself. The moment blood hit his tongue, he groaned and let his fangs sink deeper to widen the wound. Eventually, Davey got used to the situation and calmed down. That is until pounding footsteps came up the stairs.

                “Davey? Ja- Oh my god.” Davey couldn’t see him, but he recognized the voice as Buttons’.

                “Is this an a-okay situation? Do we need to jump in?” That was Finch.

                “It’s f-fine.” Davey stuttered, beginning to feel weak.

                “Alright. We’re, uh, gonna be in the bunkroom.” That was Tommy Boy. Davey could hear the three of them quickly moving down the hallway.

                Davey didn’t want to make Jack stop, but he also didn’t want to die. While he laid there trying to decide what to do, his grip gradually loosened. When his arms fell to the floor, Jack decided he was done. His fangs retracted and his eyes faded back to normal. He pulled away from Davey’s neck and started panicking when he saw Davey’s closed eyes.

                “Dave!?” He frantically shouted. Davey was too weak to muster a verbal reply, so he simply raised his eyebrows. “Oh, thank god. Stay here. I’ll be right back.” Jack got up off of Davey and left the room.

                “ _Oh, yeah, because I’m definitely going to get up and walk out of here._ ” Davey sarcastically commented in his head. Seconds later, Jack was back with a large bandage in hand. He propped Davey’s body up to where he was leaning against Jack’s knees, then applied the bandage.

                “Good as new,” Jack mumbled to himself. “Thanks, Davey. You didn’t have to do that for me. I’m sorry for hurtin’ you.” Davey smiled as a response. “Here, let’s get you somewhere more comfortable.” Jack stood up and carried Davey to the bunkroom bridal-style. He laid him down on a bunk and sat down beside him, then started scratching his head again.

                “You doin’ better?” Finch laid a hand on Jack’s shoulder.

                “Yeah, I’m doin’ better. I’m worried ‘bout Davey.”

                “He’ll be fine, Jack. It’ll just take him a little while to heal.” Buttons looked Davey up and down and smiled at the sight of his chest rising and falling.

                Jack nodded, then turned to Tommy Boy. “How…how often will I have to do that?”

                “Once a week to survive, three times a week to keep your hunger satiated.” Tommy Boy answered.

                “Hey, Jack, you can feed off of me, too, if you need it. We both know almost all of the others would volunteer, but it’s probably safer to go to me or Davey.” Buttons offered.

                Jack nodded. “Thank you.” He moved over to where he was lying next to Davey. In his sleep, Davey shifted and threw his left arm and leg over Jack’s body. Jack would’ve chuckled, but he didn’t want to wake Davey up. Instead, he closed his eyes allowed himself to relax into sleep. He didn’t need it, of course, but it was still a nice feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo, that's it, ladies, gents, and all other configurations of being. I love writing these types of things. It fills me with joy.


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